Who Has More to Play For In BracketBusters?

Can BracketBusters really help anyone? Well, if you’re talking about the NCAA tournament the answer is not much. Teams know it too and therefore some talented but banged up players might not even appear in these games. Why play a random non-conference game in February when you can rest up for conference tournaments?

Still, the marquee games will offer some fun match ups. Let’s break down the 13 televised games and see what could possibly happen.

Friday, Feb. 22:

North Dakota State at Akron, ESPN2, 7 ET – Both of these teams have to win their conference tournaments to get into the NCAA tournament. I do think if the Zips failed to win the MAC they’d be a rather high NIT seed and maybe even get a home game. NDSU is going to be playing without one of their best players, Taylor Braun, who will instead be resting a foot injury. They need him for the Summit League tournament where the Bison will be facing stiff competition from Western Illinois and South Dakota State. More to play for: Akron

Stephen F. Austin at Long Beach State, ESPNU, 9 ET – Two teams that will be facing win and in situations in their conference tournaments. Stunningly, 22-3 SFA isn’t even winning the Southland. The Lumberjacks lost head-to-head to conference rival Northwestern St. This game doesn’t impact the conference standings and there are still three games to go there, including a rematch. SFA is going to need that one to get an automatic bid to the NIT if they fail to win the conference tournament. (Though an at-large to the NIT is possible too.) LBSU got its transfers and is now rolling, but they must win the Big West. This win could help move them up the bracket just a bit. That’s the other big thing for SFA. Could a win at LBSU be enough to move the ‘Jacks up to a dangerous 12 or 13 seed? The Southland hasn’t received one of those since 1995. More to play for: Stephen F. Austin

Saturday, Feb. 23:

Iona at Indiana State, ESPNU, 11 a.m. ET – The Sycamores just have too many bad losses to make the NCAA tournament. They can’t afford another one and this would be one. Iona is mercurial, but talented and this provides the Gaels a nice chance to get back on their feet without worrying about the MAAC standings for once. I’d expect the Gaels to come out loose and play well. For ISU, winning isn’t enough to get a bid, but losing guarantees an NIT berth if they can’t find a way to navigate Arch Madness. More to play for: Indiana State

Eastern Kentucky at Valparaiso, ESPNU, 1 ET – EKU is currently on the outside looking in of most NIT brackets, including mine. The OVC’s second best resume though means something. This is a great chance to enhance it. If the Colonels could pull off the upset they’d be right on the NIT bubble and an interesting team to watch down the stretch. For Valpo, there isn’t an NCAA at-large bid coming, but they’re certainly an intriguing team. As one of the two Horizon League teams that could make noise in March it’s important to win this game so that potential seeding isn’t impacting. More to play for: Valparaiso

Detroit at Wichita State, ESPN2, 4 ET – As is the case with Valparaiso, Detroit could use to win this game to improve their seed if they survive the Horizon League tournament (and the HL tourney is set up for the higher seeds). Winning at Wichita State won’t hold quite as much cachet as it would when this game was announced, but it’d still be a good win. The Shockers have dropped back onto the bubble thanks to some close losses in conference play, but after barely surviving against Illinois State they’ve got a chance to make a statement by blowing out the Titans on national television. More to play for: Wichita State

Creighton at St. Mary’s, ESPN, 6 ET – The premiere game of the tournament when it was announced had some of the shine fall off as the Gaels couldn’t beat Gonzaga and the Blue Jays went into a bit of a funk, but this is the BracketBuster game that includes two potential NCAA tournament teams. The thing is, because of Creighton’s recent struggles neither team can really afford to lose this game. The Gaels are at home and have more to play for – their resume is paper thin – so I’d expect them to come out strong. If Creighton loses this game I’d work on winning Arch Madness. More to play for: St. Mary’s

South Dakota State at Murray State, ESPN2, 8 ET – Come to see Nate Wolters and Isaiah Canaan. Then be sad that if neither of them wins their conference tournament they’ll probably be playing in the CBI or CIT in March. More to play for: Push

Ohio at Belmont, ESPN2, 10 ET – Really don’t think the Bobcats or Bruins can get an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, but a loss here could impact Belmont’s seeding if they make it through the OVC tournament. Ohio could really use this win to boost their NIT hopes in case Akron foils them one more time. (Note: Those two teams also play at Ohio on Wednesday, Feb. 27.) Someone is getting a resume building win here. More to play for: Ohio

ESPN3 Games Quick Rundown:

Canisius at Vermont, 1 ET – Both teams are playing for pride, but can be dangerous down the stretch and make NCAAs with auto-bid. More to play for: Vermont

Pacific at Western Michigan, 2 ET – WMU is hanging around the “others considered” part of the NIT board, but this home win wouldn’t be enough. More to play for: Western Michigan

Northwestern State at Niagara, 3 ET – Everything I said about SFA applies to NWS since they’re fighting at the top of the Southland. The Purple Eagles are in much the same boat. Sure Niagara leads the MAAC, but they probably can’t escape a 16 seed (or a play-in game) if they don’t win this game. More to play for: Niagara

Denver at Northern Iowa, 8 ET – Two teams hanging right around the NIT bubble. This is actually one of the most intriguing games of the day in terms of tournament implications. A win here definitely helps one of these teams play in a better postseason tournament. The Pioneers could especially use this win. More to play for: Denver